In a story titled "Experts urge Japan to break away from 'failed' nuclear reprocessing program" the Asahi Shimbun described a report "Ending plutonium separation: An alternative approach to managing Japan's spent nuclear fuel" (pdf) by Masafumi Takubo and Frank von Hippel of the International Panel on Fissile Materials.

The report outlines a roadmap for ending plutonium separation in Japan and suggests a number of practical steps that the government of Japan must take to address the problem of spent nuclear fuel. The authors argue that the central government should take responsibility for disposal of spent fuel and "directly dispose of Japan's 44 tons of already separated plutonium instead of trying to force public acceptance of the use of MOX fuel in Japan's nuclear power plants."